Ukrainian officials said Tuesday a Russian attack struck a market in the southern city of Kherson, killing at least five people and injuring three others.
Ukraine’s military said Tuesday it shot down 29 of 32 aerial drones that Russia used in overnight attacks targeting multiple areas of the country.
Intercepts took place over the Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Poltava, and Sumy regions, the Ukrainian air force said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down a Ukrainian drone over the Belgorod region early Tuesday, after shooting down eight drones in the region overnight.
Belgorod’s governor reported damage to a commercial building, but no casualties as a result of the attacks.
Russia is increasing its defense spending by almost 30% next year, according to a draft budget published Monday.
The 2025 budget takes Russia’s military up to $145 billion, about $32 billion more than was budgeted for this year’s campaign and more military dollars than Russia has spent since the Soviet Union era.
The Russian assault on Ukraine, Europe’s largest conflict since World War II, has drained the resources of both countries.
Ukraine’s $54 billion military budget for next year is some one-third of the announced Russian plan for 2025 military spending. Ukraine has only been able to engage in the fight against its bigger and better-equipped neighbor because Ukraine has received money and equipment from its Western allies.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address Monday that the situation at the front line of Russian’s war on Ukraine is “very challenging.” The president said, “Everything that can be done this fall, everything we can achieve, we must achieve.”
Zelenskyy also said, “The power of weapons and the power of diplomacy are always effective when working together.” He said Ukraine is “expecting concrete actions from our partners to strengthen our strategy … our strength lies in the fact that the free world is defending itself.”
Some information for this story was provided by Reuters, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
